“Devices that Know How We Really Feel“, by Nick Bilton (NY Times). “Researchers have been trying to read emotions for years by monitoring facial expressions. But a new generation of sensors can judge emotion through people’s skin and breath.”

“Gary S. Becker, 83, Nobel Winner Who Applied Economics to Everyday Life, Dies“, by Robert D. Hershey, Jr. (NY Times). “An original, prolific and sometimes provocative scholar, Professor Becker was widely regarded as a towering figure in his field.” Amusingly, the article cites George W. Bush’s comment when conferring the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Dr. Becker that “Professor Becker has shown that economic principles do not just exist in theory”. On this, at least, ten out of ten economists agree.

“Audrey Hepburn’s 85th birthday: Google pays tribute to Hollywood’s fair lady“, by Alex Cox (The Guardian). Note the intentionality ascribed to the actress in shaping her career (and, by extension, her life). In addition to its voluble and witty tribute to Mme Hepburn, the article offers this advice: “[t]he nicer way of saying [that a person is too rich or too thin], and making it a compliment, is to call the person elegant”.